In northern Venezuela, working-class neighbors dug through rubble with their bare hands Thursday, searching for loved ones after back-to-back earthquakes killed over 230 people and left thousands injured. The official death toll rose to around 235 late Thursday, with at least 4,300 people injured, while thousands remained missing as residents led rescue efforts. Few government search teams were initially seen outside Caracas, leaving the immediate burden of rescue on the affected communities.
Workers Bear the Brunt
Mother of three Dayana Delgado, whose 8-year-old son was missing, questioned the absence of heavy machinery promised by government officials. She stated that residents were the ones digging through crumpled buildings. In La Guaira, a coastal region north of Caracas that suffered heavy damage, Cristian Carreño stared at his charred apartment building, stating, “I lost everything. There are people still inside, I imagine, that couldn’t get out. It’s incredibly devastating.” Retired schoolteacher Juan Alberto Mendaño climbed through wreckage, past a dead body, to spot a trapped woman, lamenting, “When we heard the scream, there was nothing we could do.” Families posted missing-person flyers and shared handwritten lists as they searched, while Venezuelans abroad struggled to contact relatives due to interrupted phone service. In downtown Caracas, hundreds spent the night huddled in parks and other open spaces.
The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes, among the strongest in Venezuela in more than a century, flattened buildings and cracked streets. The country’s main airport in La Guaira was closed due to damage, complicating aid efforts. This region is familiar with natural disasters, having experienced a mudslide in its 27th year prior that killed thousands.
The State's Limited Capacity
The natural disaster struck a country facing economic disarray for more than a decade. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who took office in January after the capture and removal of then-President Nicolás Maduro by the United States, declared a state of emergency late Wednesday. Rodríguez announced the creation of a $200 million reconstruction fund for damaged hospitals and homes. She appealed to businesses on Thursday to make heavy construction equipment available for rescue operations, highlighting the state's reliance on private capital for critical infrastructure. Many people reject the legitimacy of the political movement Rodríguez represents, further complicating the state's ability to mobilize collective resources.
United Nations officials in Venezuela called on the government to lift social media restrictions to allow access to potentially life-saving information. The social media platform X had been blocked by Maduro since August 2024, in its second year, in an attempt to suppress the exchange of information among those who rejected his claim of victory in the July presidential election, also in its second year. This suppression of communication channels further hampered the ability of the dispossessed to coordinate and seek help.
Imperial Intervention and International Aid
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to Rodríguez following the quake, stating the United States was immediately deploying assistance. Rubio promised a “whole-of-government response” that would be “big; it’ll be fast; and it’ll be effective,” while acknowledging the logistical challenges posed by the airport closure. This imperial intervention follows the U.S. role in the removal of the previous president. Rescue workers and aid arrived from Chile, Switzerland, Turkey, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico, with leaders from Qatar, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, and Canada also vowing assistance. Dominican Air Force Major Carlos Olivares noted, “No country is prepared to provide the response that’s needed. That’s what neighboring countries are there for,” underscoring the systemic lack of preparedness for such events.
The Venezuelan diaspora also mobilized, with Félix Rodríguez in Ecuador receiving donations from fellow Venezuelans and Ecuadorians. Gabby Graham, sending money from Spokane, Washington, found herself unable to share funds for necessities with her family after the local business she used for peer-to-peer payments became unreachable. She stated, “I think it hasn’t been easy for them for years. Just now it’s just even worse because it’s about finding these things,” illustrating the ongoing precarity faced by the working class, exacerbated by the disaster.